Kirkland & Ellis maintains a solid roster of New York and locally-qualified practitioners based in Hong Kong, who work closely with PRC-based lawyers to provide a ‘very strong’ service to both issuers and underwriters on Hong Kong listings and follow-on offerings, as well as US IPOs and Rule 144A and Regulation S offerings. Mengyu Lu heads the team from Hong Kong, following David Zhang’s departure in January 2024, and draws upon vast experience assisting Chinese companies go public on the HKSE, including under the relatively newly enacted Rule 18A aimed at helping pre-revenue biotech companies go public. Lu is also one of a number in the team, including Joey Chau and Brian Ho, who have real world expertise of handling mandates under the newly enacted Hong Kong SPAC regime, with all three recently being involved in the first announced de-SPAC transaction since the introduction of the new listing regime in 2022.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
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Profile
Work Department
Corporate
Position
Partner
Career
Dr. Mengyu Lu heads the Firm’s Asia capital markets practice. Dr. Lu has extensive experience in initial public offerings, SPACs, pre-IPO financings, mergers and acquisitions, and various follow-on offerings or compliance matters by listed companies. She is particularly well recognized in advising issuers in the “new economy” sectors, including healthcare, semiconductor, artificial intelligence, TMT and consumer sectors. In addition to corporate issuers, she also advises major investment banks, private equity and venture capital firms on capital markets and M&A matters. Her major corporate clients include, among others, Super Hi, ZG Group, NIO, Will Semiconductor and Kelun Biotech.
Dr. Lu was recognized as a leading lawyer for China equity capital markets by Chambers Global and Chambers Greater China, a “Leading Individual” for Hong Kong equity capital markets by Legal 500, and a “Highly Regarded” lawyer for Hong Kong capital markets by IFLR1000. IFLR named her to its list of 2021 “Asia Best Lawyers”, and Asian Legal Business named her to its 2021 Asia “40 under 40” list. She was also listed in China Business Law Journal’s “China’s Elite 100 Lawyers” in 2016-2018 and 2020-2021.
Languages
English, Mandarin, Cantonese
Education
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Ph.D., Economics
Duke University School of Law, LL.M.
China University of Political Science and Law, LL.B.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
'Kirkland & Ellis maintained a patient, diligent and professional attitude from the beginning of the project to the end, and properly solved various problems from the company's standpoint.'
‘Kirkland & Ellis maintain a high level of partner involvement throughout the process, personally taking care of things and responding to requests, which also ensures a high service quality.'
Key clients
- Webull Corporation
- L Catterton
- ZG Group
- NIO Inc.
- Wynn Macau, Limited
- AP Acquisition Corp
- Will Semiconductor
- MoneyHero Limited
- Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
- Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., and
- China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited,
- Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited
- iMotion Automotive Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd
- ADICON Holdings Limited
- Morgan Stanley Asia Limited and China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited
- ZX Inc.
Work highlights
Advising Webull Corporation, a leading digital investment platform, on its business combination with SK Growth Opportunities Corporation.
Advised L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company formed by affiliates of L Catterton, on its business combination with Lotus Technology Inc.
Provided US and Hong Kong legal advice to ZG Group, the target company and issuer in the listing of its shares and public warrants on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong by way of a business combination with Aquila Acquisition Corporation.